


how do we be

by markleeder



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, NCT Dream - Freeform, also on aff and tumblr, markmin, this is a cute af ship board it rn, this is embarrassing ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-08-13 14:50:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7980526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/markleeder/pseuds/markleeder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>in which Mark seems pretty much clueless, Jaemin doesn't know how to confess but Jeno and Donghyuck are happy to demonstrate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	how do we be

Mark isn’t one for titles, but it’s nice to hear the younger ones call him their leader sometimes. He likes to take care of them like an elder brother would, which is why he thinks all their affections for him is a small way of saying thanks.

“He doesn’t get it, does he?” Donghyuck says. They’re on break from practice.

“I didn’t think hyung was such a dolt” Jeno rubs Jaemin’s back. It must have been consolation, but Jaemin can feel the laughter bubbling under their attempts to make him feel better. He resists the urge to roll his eyes in exasperation.

Jaemin liked Mark. If he wanted to make it any more obvious, he would have just straight up confessed. But that’s not as easy as Donghyuck makes it sound.

Donghyuck and Jeno stand on both his sides and mutter about how he should just corner Mark and say the words. How difficult could that be.

“Then you do it” Jaemin was getting tired.

“Fine” Donghyuck says. “Jeno, you want to have a go?”

“Rock paper scissors?” He leans over immediately.

Jaemin stares in disbelief as both his friends swish hands two three times and Jeno walks over to Mark without protest. Donghyuck just leans back beside Jaemin, with a proud grin on his face.

“Watch and learn lover-boy” he says and Jaemin snorts.

Mark had just stopped practising while Jisung had gone to change the music. He smiles after spotting Jeno, suddenly curious about the grin on his face.

“What is it?” He asks immediately.

“Hyung” Jeno grabs Mark by the shoulder. “I love you” he says sweetly.

Mark blanks out for a second. It takes the sound of Jaemin choking in the background to reel him back to reality.

“That is so sweet” Mark ruffles Jeno’s hair endearingly “I love you too” and it is a platonic, non-romantic, gentle push to the sidelines.

It doesn’t break Jeno’s smile as he lets Mark continue practicing and walks back with a triumphant grin towards a snickering Donghyuck and unimpressed Jaemin.

“That went well” Jaemin says dryly.

Jeno only took his place on Jaemin’s right with a smug look on his face. “If you wanted better, he’d be my boyfriend. Not yours”.

Jaemin resists the urge to jab Donghyuck on the side as he outright laughs at his face. “The point was that it’s not that hard to confess”

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Jeno asks

“Hyung messes your hair and sends you on your way” Donghyuck supplies.

“That’s exactly what I don’t want to happen!” Jaemin groans.

“You and I are different and must mean differently to him. He’ll obviously understand it’s a serious kind of different when you’re the one saying it to him” Jeno says sagely.

“Like he’s been understanding till now?” Jaemin whisper screams.

“Well that means you’ve been slacking off buddy” Donghyuck flicks Jaemin’s forehead.

“You’ve all been slacking off” Mark calls out “Break’s over. Get back here”  
They all freeze in place, looking up to see Mark walking towards them.

Donghyuck and Jeno scatter obediently. Jaemin still has difficulty functioning. Just as he pushes off the wall to join the others, he finds Mark’s arm around his shoulder.

“You look pale” he says “Everything alright?”

Jaemin looks at Mark’s worried face close to his own and manages to nod. He wasn’t going to trust himself to be able to answer without stuttering something stupid.

Halfway into their song, Yuta peeks into their practice room.

“Jisung, director’s looking for you down in the Commons and PD’s looking for Jeno and Donghyuck to record a demo. Immediately” he waves for them to hurry. It takes seconds for the three to clear out after Yuta. Jaemin feels a pat on the back and not so subtle glances from Jeno and Donghyuck that might have possibly meant ‘go for it’, now that he’s going to be left alone with Mark.

The practice room is suddenly very quiet and empty.

“What do you want to do?” Mark asks.

“Let’s continue” Jaemin says evenly and shifts to his start point. Over the next hour, they practice together and evaluate individually from time to time till Jisung bursts in.

“What’s happened?” Mark asks

“I met some new trainees” Jisung grins as he stuffs everything into his bag “my age” he says belatedly, answering Jaemin’s questioning look. “They want me to show them around”.

Jaemin swears it must be the brightest he’s ever seen Jisung smile. Jisung waves goodbye and just sprints out. Jaemin smiles to himself.

“That sounds great” Mark says, looking at the door closing behind Jisung. “He must feel like a hyung” he smiles at Jaemin.

Jaemin wordlessly plays the music and begins dancing. Mark stills for a moment, wondering and then switches the player off.

“Okay. What’s wrong?” He looks at Jaemin who freezes mid step.

“Huh?” Jaemin says unintelligently.

“You’re awfully quiet today” Mark says suspiciously. It was true that Jaemin hadn’t been his loud self all day.

“I just-don’t want to say anything unnecessary” he says carefully.

“What are you talking about?” Mark walks towards him and Jaemin staggers backward unintentionally. “What could be unnecessary?” Mark doesn’t understand and he’s much too close. He grabs onto Jaemin’s arm to keep him from avoiding him any longer.  
Jaemin looks down. He has an inch or two on Mark. Mark says that’s just his hair but it’s obvious when they’re this close.

“I love you hyung” Jaemin whispers.

“See that’s not unnecess—” Mark stills because he’s not sure he’s heard right. “What?” he looks at Jaemin and it’s very different from how Jeno had grinned at him earlier. His hand slides off Jaemin’s arm.

He doesn’t understand completely. Not until Jaemin leans in and presses a small kiss at the corner of his mouth.

 

Mark sinks to the floor slowly, surprised beyond words and covers his mouth with his hands, looking dazed into the distance.

Jaemin kneels down in front of him. He waits for Mark to understand and react; curse at him, punch him, run away, anything. Speaking of running away, now seemed like a really good time for Jaemin to make an escape.  
But he just waits for Mark to recover.

“Hyung I’m not going to hold back until you understand what I mean” he says. “I’m not sorry I said that”

Mark looks at him. “But I’m sorry I didn’t say it better” he hears Jaemin say.

He shifts his hands away and blinks, expressionlessly at first, but then his brows knit together. Jaemin expects the worst.

“That wasn’t so bad” Mark says, hand ghosting over where Jaemin had kissed him.

Jaemin blinks in disbelief. “Is that a yes?” He dares ask, with an uncontrollable blossom of hope behind the question.

“I—yeah” Mark rubs the back of his neck, breaking into a small smile. “Yeah” he says again. This time the grin is embarrassed and full blown.

Jaemin laughs and falls back to the floor. He rubs at his eyes and looks at the ceiling.

“I must be dreaming” he says to himself. But Mark is here, laying down next to him till they’re eye to eye.

“Must be. You’re in here with me” Mark says, voice dropping to a whisper.

That sounded all wrong. Jaemin tries to process what sounded very much like it wasn’t the first time Mark had thought about him in a non-platonic way.

Jaemin feels Mark’s hand pull on his shirt till they’re inches apart. And then Mark says it.

 

“Kiss me awake?”

 

 

 

 

-  
/End  
-

**Author's Note:**

> this is a very cute ship and no one can convince me otherwise hihi


End file.
